Apparatus for printing characters



.Sept. 6,1938. 7 LOOP 2,129,065

APPARATUS FOR PRINTING CHARACTERS I Filed July 6, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

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ATTORNEY Sept. 6, 1938. J. N. LOOP APPARATUS FOR PRINTING CHARACTERS Filed July 6, 1957 3 Sheets$heet 2.

p 6, 1933- .1. N. LOOP APPARATUS FQR PRINTING CHARACTERS Filed July 6, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet '3 V Tin-1U M -wwwwww.--

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' IIET-l-E ATTORNEY Patented 6, 1938 UNITED STATES 2,129,065 APPARATUS roa PRINTING: onsmo'rnas Joseph N. Loop, Washington, D. 0.

Application July 6, 1937, Serial No. 152,212

12 Claims. (01. 197-1) My invention relates broadly to apparatus for typing and printing and more particularly to a construction of printing head and selective operating mechanism for marking or, printing 5 characters.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a compact mechanism operative within short limits of movement for printing alphabetical and other characters at high speed.

10- Another object of my invention is toprovide an inexpensive construction of printing apparatus .for high speed operationwherein a multiplicity of marker members are selectively actuated in accordance with the character to be 15 printed,

inoperative.

A further object of my invention is'to provide a multiple arrangement of marker members in. rectangular formation, adapted to be actuated.

simultaneously, with a plurality of meansjndividually seiectively'operable for determining the members to be actuated for printinga desired character. I (I.

Still another object of my invention is to pro- 25 vide a printing head m'ovablewith respect to the. printing surface, and having a'plurality of s'elec.-. tor bars and a single actuating bar enacting therewith'iall movable witii limited displacementfor high speed operation. 30 still another objector my invention is to provide rigid supporting means for a printing head. and light and unrestricted anti-friction,beari11g contact for all movable elements so as to maintain high speed, trouble free operation in the 35- printing head.

Astill further object of my invention istopro- ,vide broadly a constructionoi typingand print- 'ing apparatus ior high speedoperation involvingv a minimumoi partsfadapted for'automatic and; 1 4oscoordinated operation at highspeed.

Other and further. objects or. my side in the structures and arrangements herein:

ait'ermore,iullydescribedwithlreferenceto I v I I J tion basis' in view'of the'relative simplicity of the mechanism with respect to" prior art devices. 45

accompanyins drawings,in which: 1 v

4 Figure, 1 is a comprehensive top :planview 1 vpartly in section. of. the printlngi hea lf'oi my. l invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged {vertical longitd: dim! view oi the printing .portion with parts broken away and shownjin sectionjasnon line 50 2-4. lnQFlg. 3; Fig.3 a" a.,lioriz0ntalfsectiona1 v viewtaken ,substantiallylon Fig. 2;1] p Fig. 4'is aggreatly enlargediacevievtofthe print? I 1 i. s term n s otthe when: or flmifinven'.

tion; Fig. 5 is a vertical 'cro'ss-tectional' view as takenarbitrarilyonlinel-linllg.1;1"lg.6ia

other members being maintained detail longitudinal sectional View ofo a munication' a view similar'to Fig. 5 showing'the actuated position of the apparatus as seen online'B-S in Fig. 11; Fig 7 is a detail elevational view of the tooth and rack connection shown in Figs. 5- and 6; Fig. 8. is a detailed representation of the-char- 5 acter printed with the apparatus in the position shown in Fig. 6; Fig. 9 is a vertical crbss-sectional view similar to Fig. 5 taken arbitrarily 'on line 99 of Fig. 1; Fig.1) is a vertical'jgross-sectional view taken substantially on line inf-l0 in Fig. 1: 10 Fig. 11 is a detail vertical longitudinal view of the apparatus, with an element bf thefassembly in actuatedposition as shown i ii E 6 Fig. 12 is a detailplan view of the portion o'ithe apparatus shownin Fig. 11. with the same element of the 15 assembly in actuated position; and 13' is a e of the impact elements. H a v The apparatus otfiny invention is intended primarily for use in high speed'telegraphic 'comsystems. Mechanisms heretofore employedin thisrespect, including type bar de-. vices, ,bulky carriage structures and actuating meansi lfhave beeri limited to speeds-below the capability of efiicient operators whereas the apparatus oi my invention will'iunctionqat speeds up to one hundred andflfty 'wQi-dsa minute, which iswelhbiidiid the mor eflicient typing speeds and jevefniabove rec, typing speeds.

Insofar as the printing met: at m is concerned,

the features whichhontribute tc"the high speed facility of my invention include a'carrlage structure bi relatively small and the arrangeinent of character deterii'iining, marking or printing control plates operative incommon with respect to a limited multiplicity of marker or printer members. Stationary mechanisms for selection and printing fbperations are, "arranged for coaction with the printing'he'ad' in short uichmovements eflected with a minimum of 40 lost motion. The constructionof the printing -mechanism. of my; invention is adaptable for manufacture at 'low' cost on"a quantity produc- 1 Reierringito theldrawings more details, Fig. 1 showsrin plan view the complete assembly 0! printer mechanism which can be divided for con-' sideration, fjinto three portions: theprinter head i; the selection'or conditioning'section 2; and

theimpact or'actuatim; portion 3. Broadly, the

arrangementincludes -a"multipliclty' 01 1 marker members orj rods l in'ithe printer head vI. a like multiplicity"oflintermediate' push rods' lin the conditioning section 2. and a like multiplicity of u striker pins 6 carried in the actuating portion 3. Normally the members 4, 5. 6 are respectively in alignment, but means are provided in the selection or conditioning section 2 for determining which of the marker rods are to be actuated. Such means, in the form of my invention disclosed, comprise a plurality of marking control plates I mounted on the push rods 5 between end plates 8 and 8', and actuating bar members I individual to the plates I. A guide plate II is provided adjacent the end plate 8' to facilitate the operation of the control plates I on the rods 5.

The printer mechanism I, 2, 2, is mounted with respect to a platen Ill, carryinga paper sheet I2. Theprinting head I is rigidly mounted on rod members I5, as shown more clearly in Figs. 2

and 3, by means of the upright plates I6 and I6 which in turn support a frame member II constituting the base of the printinghead I. Plates I6 and 8' have downwardly flared extensions thereon carrying rollers engageable with the supporting rods Il, I4 for reciprocatory movement of themechanism on the rods I4, ll. The end plates I and 8' are fixed in spaced relation on the rod members I5 and the marking or printnig control plates I are supported thereon in the manner shown in Figs. 5 and 6,'in separate spaced relation. The impact'or actuating portion 2 is slidably mounted on the rod members I5 as indicated in Fig. 12, and adapted to be actuated by a striker arm I! in the printing operation.

Referring particularly to Figs. 2-4 the printer head I comprises a multiplicity of small tubular guides 20 clamped in a close rectangular formation adjacent the end of the frame member II, between portions IIa and I'll) thereof and the cap plate 2 I. At the other end of the base II are provided supporting plate members 22 receiving the tubular guides 20 in spaced relation. The marker rods 4 extend through the tubular guides 20 and terminate evenly at the openings of the guides adiacent the paper I2. An inked ribbon'2l is provided. in the form. of my invention shown, between the ends of marker rods 0 and the paper so that pressure of the rods against platen I0 produces an inked mark on the paper l2 in the 1 relative position of the marker rod actuated.

Combinations of such dots form the characters printed, as illustrated in Fig. 8 for the letter "U". as will hereinafter be more fully considered. A ribbon guide and support mounted on the base I1 is provided at 25, and suitable ribbon feeding means are employed. The opposite ends of marker rods 4- extend beyond the tubular guides 20 and are provided with collars 26 sweated or otherwise fixed therein and individual coil springs 21 operative between a plate 22 and the collars 20 to maintain the marker rods 4 retracted. Rods l terminate a certain distance within the collars 20 and are met by the ends of push rods 5 which also are fixed in the collars after passing through apertures in the. plates I and It. when actuated, push rods I thus directly transmit motion to marker rods 4, and springs 21 are immediately eflective to restore the. rods to normal position so that smooth action is assured.

The push rods I extend from the plates II and Ii through a broad-opening in end plate 2, the control plates I, an opening in end plate I, and guide plate I I, and terminate evenlyadjacent the ends of striker pins 2. In order to maintain the control plates I in separate spaced relation, spacer plates 22 are arranged alternately with spacer washers II on rods I! and clampedbetween end plates 8 and 8'. The arms of control plates 1 rest on the spacer washers I8 and are guided within the limits of adjacent spacer plates 22 upon the individual displacement thereof, as shown more clearly in Figs. 5 and 6. The lower end of spacer plates 22 serve to guide the individual actuating bar members 9 into engagement wi the respective control plates I.

As shown in Fig. 10, the guide plate I I is formed with diagonal slits Ila through which the rods 5 pass and along which they are adapted to be bent, as will be further described. The marking or printing control plates I differ individually, and two examples thereof are shown in Figs. 5 and 9. The plate shown in Fig. 5 is adapted to provide the letter U" and is designated In, and the plate in Fig. 9, the letter "I" and is designated 11. Referring to Figs. 5 and 6, the plate In is provided with slots Ia and lb of different extent. In Fig. 5 the plate is shown in normal position, maintained so under the action of an individual spring member 29 supported with others of the same form from a frame structure 30 attached to upwardly extending portions of end plates 8 and 2' carried on rod members I5, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5 especially. The slots Ia, it will be noted, are short and extend upwardly only at an angle from the rods 5, so that any movement of the plate upwardly will displace the rods 5 passing therethrough. On the other hand, slots lb extend both upwardly and downwardly, at an angle from the rods 5, so that movement of the plate in the direction of the slots upwardly will not displace the rods 5. In the plate In, it will be noted that these slots lb are in the form of a U. and the rods thus undisplaced by movement of the plate In, as in Fig. 6, are the rods actuated to print a U" on the paper I2.

In this operation, only the downwardly extending portions of the slots ID are involved; the upwardly extending portions of slots lb, together with slots Ia, provide means whereby all the rods I may be displaced upwardly with respect to the plate In by others of the character determining printing control plates 1 in order to print one or another of the characters besides U". The control plate 1:, for example, provides for displacement upwardly of certain of the rods I which is eiiected through the upwardly extending slots Ia and portions of lb in plate In. correspondingly, plate I1 is provided with upwardly extending slots la and slots Ic having upwardly extending portions to accommodate the upward displacement of certain of the rods 5 by the plate 1a. For convenience in manufacture, upwardly extending slots Ia may be connected with the downwardly extending portions of aligned slots Ib and lc, without altering the manner of operation of the plates. The nature and function of slots Ila in guide plate II can now be more clearly understood as essentially providing for the upward displacement of any and all of the rods 2 by the printing control plates 'l, while maintaining substantial alignment of the operated by a multiple impulse telegraphic code signal, a manual keyboard, or remote control electromagnetic mechanism. The printing mechanism is reciprocatory on rods Il, N in steps corresponding to each printing space and with an automatic return function. The bar members "purpose of separate springs and individual striker 9 extend crosswise of the machine in the direction of movement of the carriage, and are provided with angular recesses 9a corresponding to the steps of movement of the carriage. Each plate I has a projection 1d adapted to be engaged in the recesses 90. in its respective bar member. As illustrated inl'Fig. 7, the recesses 90 are formed with an obtuse angle, one side of which is ing c ined at substantially 45, or normal to thedir'ection of actuation of the bar member." .Tliisfs'ide is adapted to engage a similarly inclined edge of angular projection Id to provide a normal abutting contact for shiftingitheplate 'l. The adjacent sides of the recess and the projection are. formed at an angle offiili'irom'the face of the member so as to avoid friction from rubbing contact between thesesi'des while the actuating sides are moving into abutment, the correspondingsides being engaged'at the same moment for emcient operation of the device.

Considering a plate I in displaced position, as in Fig. 6, the arrangement of the push. bars "-5 adjacent the ends of the striker pins 6 is shown particularly in Figs. 11 and 12, Fig; ll being'in elevation and Fig. 12in plan, with parts broken and shown in section. The rods remaining in alignment with striker pins 6 are adapted to drive the corresponding. marker rods 4 which hit the paper i2 throughthe inked ribbon 24, when the striker arm 19 is actuated. The impact .the rod'members l5, and are effective to maintain the frame structure retracted, with plate 32 resting against retaining collars 31 secured by pins .38. In' this position, striker pins 6 are slightly spaced from the adjacent push rods 5', allowing any of the rods 5 to be displaced. The striker arm is is arranged for operation in coordination moved forward as one, and the striker pins 6 on with the actuating bar members 9 so that im pact is transniittedto the marker rods 4 instantly upon the conditioning of push rods 5 by the selective operation of any one of the marking or printing control plates 1. A separate control plate is provided for each character which may be printed and the plates maybe interchanged with a minimum of labor if itiis desired at any time to provide different characters, or, where a code signal is employed to actuate selector apparatus, to provide a diflerent response to a given code combination. f

In Fig. 13, I have illustrated llial' cularly by way of example the structure of one of the striker pins 6, which includes a collar member 38 sweated or otherwise fixed to the pin 8 and a coil spring 39 operative against the collar. The collar mem-, ber 38 is loosely mounted in an aperture in plate 3| with the collar portion thereof limiting its outward movement. The other end of pin 8 is confined in the central bore of a sleeve member 40 which is mounted by screw threads in the plate 32. In operation, then, plates II and 32 are abutting push rods 5 transmit motion therethroughto marker rods 4. At the limit of the members 40 against the force of springs 2!. The

pins with adjustable tension is to facilitate printing characters over uneven surfaces with equal clearness, and to enable adjustment for wearing characteristics in individual push rod and marker rod combinations.

, The striker arm l9 returns quickly after mov-* ing forward a distance suflicient. to give a good printing impression, allowing striker pin asactuating bar members 9. When the end of a line of printing has been reached, a carrlagereturn function returns the printing head to the beginning of the llneand platen ill with paper 1 I2 is turned by a line feed function. The characters may be printed by an inked typewriter ribbon, as shown, but the structuremay be modifled so that tubes 20 and marker rods 4 may be utilized for liquid inking or any other suitable marking means may be employed. Springs 21' I also operate to return push bars 5 to unoperated position, limited by collars 26 as well as to withdraw marker rods 4 from printing contact.

Plates Hi, It, have holes which fit snugly about push rods 5 and are aligned in such a mannerthat when a printing control plate I is released by a bar 9, the push bars '5,which are made of. spring material, immediately go back into line with striker pins 6, guided by the-slots in guide plate ll, under their own spring "tension. In other words, when printing control plates 1 are operated certain push bars 5 arbent out of the way of striker pins 6. The 'holes for push bars 5 in plates l6, it are aligned so as to reduce'bindin the .push bars which are operated to a minimum so that their endwise movement will be unrestricted. '-As'to push bars 5 which are bent aside, a bind might be found in their passage through "the holes in plates l6, it, but as push bars are bent out of line to prevent their endwisemovement, a bind in such instances is not detrimental but helps to prevent any motion of unoperated push bars.

Thus, while I have described my invention in a certain preferred form, I desire it to be understood that modifications may be made therein, and that no limitations upon my invention are intended except as maybe imposed within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 0! the United States, is as follows:

1. Printing mechanism including a ihultiplicity of printing elements, striker means cooperative therewith for moving said printing elements to marking position, and separately actuated printtion, a multiplicity of printing elements, actuating means therefor, and separately constituted means operative with respect to said printing elements for preventing operation of certain of. said elements while permitting actuation by said actuating means of others of said elements in a predetermined formation.

3. Printing. mechanism comprising in combinacharacter determining means.

4. Printing mechanism comprising a frame structure, a multiplicity of tubular guide members mounted evenly in compact rectangular arrangement at one end of said frame structure, means for supporting the other ends of said tubular members in spaced relation, rod members extending through said tubular guide members, actuating means cooperative with said rod members, and means cooperative with the spaced rod members for preventing operation of certain of said members while permitting actuation of others in a predetermined formation.

5. Printing mechanism comprising a frame structure reciprocatory' with respect to a print-- ing surface, said structure being movable in spaced steps in printing relation to the printing surface, a grouped multiplicity of printing elements mounted on said frame structure, a plurality of character determining printing control plates carried by said frame structure and operative with respect to said printing elements, actuating means individual to said plates mounted apart from said frame structure and coextensive with the reciprocatory movement thereof, and actuating means for said printing elements including a striker arm mounted apart from said frame structure and coextensive with the reciprocatory movement thereof.

6. Printing mechanism including a printer head assembly comprising a base structure, a multiplicity of tubular guide members mounted evenly. in compact rectangular arrangement at one end of said base structure means for mounting the other ends of. said tubular members in spaced relation, rod members extending through said tubular guide members and having portions thereof projecting at the spaced ends of said tubes; collar members fixed to said projecting portions of said rod members, individual spring means, operative against said collar members mounted on said base structure, for maintaining the opposite ends of said rod members retracted within said tubular guide members and pro jectible against the action of said spring means.

7.,Printing mechanism including a printer head assembly comprising a base structure, a multiplicity of tubular guide members mounted evenly in compact rectangular arrangement at one end of said base structure, marker rod members extending through said tubular guide members and projectible-at the ends thereof, a ribbon support and guide carried by said base structure at the said end thereof, and an inked ribbon disposed in said support and guide and extending over the openings of said tubular guide members,-said marker rod members .being projectible to print through said inked ribbon on an adjacent printing surface.

8. Printing mechanism including a multiplicity of printing elements, actuating rod members individual to said printing elements, and means for selectively determining the rod members to be operated comprising a frame including parallel extending bar members, aplurality of plates supported on said bar members and apertured to pass said rod members; the apertures in said plates being in the form of upwardly extending diagonal slots, and said rod members being resilient so that movement of any one of said plates may effect displacement of the rod members with respect to the others of said plates, rendering such rod members inoperative, each ofv said plates having downwardly extending diagonal slots in a difierent predetermined formation permitting the rods passing therethrough to remain in normal position upon movement of the plate upwardly in the direction of said slots, said normally disposed rods being operable for actuating the corresponding printing elements.

members and permitting displacement of said rod members with respect thereto in the direction of said diagonal slots.

10. Printing mechanism including a multiplicity of printing elements, and means for actuating said printing elements comprising a striker pin assembly slidably mounted with respect to said printing elements, striker pins in said assembly individual to said printing elements, spring means individual to said striker pins, and individual means for adjusting thev tension of said spring means.

11. Printing mechanism including a multiplicity of printing elements, a plurality of character determining printing control plates operative with respect to said printing elements, and actuating means individual to said plates comprising a notched actuating bar member and a projecting toottxh on the respective plate cooperable therewi 12. Printing mechanism asset forth in claim 11, withthe actuating bar member adapted to move at an acute angle into engagement with the respective character determining plate, the meeting edges of said projecting tooth and the notch in said bar member being substantially normal to the direction of movement of the bar member, and the other edges of said projecting tooth and the notch in said bar member being disposed at an obtuse angle with respect to said meeting edges.

JOSEPH N. LOOP. 

